On Aerobic Monday

Whew … an interesting weather weekend for Cincinnati. From Friday’s sunny and pleasant day, to Saturday’s sunny, very warm, and muggy, to Sunday’s rains. Then again, that’s April … and for us in the northern hemisphere, April is generally better than March.

How was the weather in your area? What did you do this weekend? Come on now – tell us something.

Our weekend involved an evening of ballroom, taking long walks, working Sunday, ushering at church, attending a wedding, and Quick Step formation practice. Meanwhile, I need to explain Quick Step.

For those remembering a geography trivia question in the last Opinions in the Shorts, see Stamford, go north, south, east, and west, from Stamford Connecticut (or Connecticut’s southwestern corner). For my standpoint, List of X was also correct – and as I responded to him, the person who first asked me the question many years ago included “population center” in the question. X – how did you determine your answer?

Celebrations for Your Week

• (Week) Cleaning for a Reason Week, Organize Your Files Week, Medical Labs Week, Human Violence Awareness Week, Laboratory Animal Liberation Week, Home Furnishings Week, Wildlife Film Week, Consumer Awareness Week, Money Smart Week, Infant Immunization Week, Park Week, Police Officers Who Gave Their Lives in the Line of Duty Week, Administrative Professionals Week, Bedbug Awareness Week, Coin Week, Fibroid Awareness Week, Oral-Head-and-Neck-Cancer Awareness Week, Crime Victims Rights Week, Environmental Education Week, Infertility Awareness Week, Karaoke Week, Pet ID Week, Princess Week, Bubblegum Week, Sky Awareness Week, Week of the Ocean, Bike Safety Week, Pan American Week, Boys & Girls Club Week, Adult Films Week, Explore Your Career Week, Science & Technology Week
• (Mon) Cuckoo Day, Food Day, Look Alike Day, Lima Bean Respect Day, Pineapple Upside Down Cake Day, Chinese Language Day, Pot Smokers Day, Medical Marijuana Day, Make a Quilt Day, Volunteer Recognition Day, Get to Know Your Customers Day
• (Tues) Red Baron Day, Bulldogs are Beautiful Day, Rosita’s Birthday (Sesame Street), Kindergarten Day, Jet Passenger Service Day, Surprise Drug Test Day, Chocolate Covered Cashews Day, San Jacinto Day, Tuna Rights Day, Big Word Day
• (Wed) Earth Day, Jelly Bean Day, April Shows Day, Administrative Professionals Day, Global Selfie Earth Day
• (Thurs) Talk Like Shakespeare Day, Take a Chance Day, Picnic Day, Nose Picking Day, Garlic Day, Movie Theater Day, Lost Dogs Awareness Day, Cherry Cheesecake Day, Impossible Astronaut Day, Take Your Kids to Work Day, English Language Day, World Book & Copyright Day, Home Run Day, Shirley Temple Day, Fire Drill Day, Lover’s Day, Laboratory Day, Peppercorn Day

Some commercials are very fitting to start your week with a smile. This one is from across the pond, so our European friends may be familiar with this one. Have a good rest of the week.

Opinions in the Shorts: Vol. 255

Two new candidates for 2016 race for US President are officially in the race: Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL). Although neither is unexpected, it will be interesting to see if Mrs. Clinton implodes and if Mr. Rubio becomes the second choice of most Republicans.

Here’s an interesting closing by Aaron David Miller (Woodrow Wilson International Institute for Scholars) in this Op-Ed at CNN about Hillary Clinton.

Clinton’s biggest challenge on the campaign trail and in office should she win is whether she can develop a foreign policy vision and an effective approach to the world that strikes a better balance between the risk-readiness of George W. Bush and the risk-aversion of Barack Obama. And given the cruel and unforgiving nature of the world America now inhabits, this will be no easy task.

I appreciated Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus’ take about the situation involving President Obama, Republicans, and Iran.

Last Friday morning I added the news about the passing of Lauren Hill. I was surprised how the positive message and stories continued. Here’s one of the early tributes.

After Lauren Hill played her first game, I wrote about some of the other positive aspects of that game, which included the role of Hiram College and its players. The mere fact that their team made the 4-hour trip to Cincinnati for the memorial service says a lot about how they were impacted.

This week included anniversaries of the Lincoln assassination and the Titanic disaster. I included an article about each in the Interesting Reads.

Act 2 of Meals: The Musical featuring fruit was a big hit. Choices were numerous as my prep list included apples, apricots, bananas, blackberries, blueberries, cantaloupes, casabas, cherries, elderberries, grapes, grapefruit, kiwis, lemons, limes, mangoes, oranges, peaches, pears, plums, raisins, raspberries, strawberries, tangerines, and watermelon .. then toss in grapevines. Well done!

No Saturday Morning Cartoons this weekend, but Saturday will bring a new Explore post.

Here’s an interesting trivia question to ponder. Hopefully, I will remember to give the answer on Monday. Category is US Geography. Person X is standing in State Y. No matter if Person X travels directly north, south, east, or west, the next state encountered will always be State Z. Where (what state) is Person X standing, and is the next state?

To lead you into it’s headlines, The Onion introduces us to the latest presidential candidate.

Embed from Getty Images

This Week’s Headlines from The Onion

• Report: Only 40% of celebrities marrying their stalkers
• Teacher arranged desks in giant circle
• Fast food drive-thru just cow carcass and bucket for money
• New evidence suggests Middle East conflict predates all human civilization
• Obama fantasizes about ordering drone strike against self on last day of presidency
• US encouraging Cuba to shift toward Democratic system of corruption

Interesting Reads

• Looking back at Lincoln
• The Titanic: A technological marvel
• Columnist David Brooks on a moral bucket list
• The elephant’s long trunk
• Sue’s post with a letter by Albert Einstein about a surprising universal force
• Urine at the roots of chemistry

Your Weekend Celebrations

• (Weekend) Youth Services Days
• (Fri) Blah! Blah! Blah! Day, Day of Silence, Malbec Day, Nothing Like a Dame Day, Bat Appreciation Day, Ellis Island Family History Day, Ford Mustang Day, Haiku Poetry Day, Cheeseball Day, Sherlock Hemlock Day, Daffy Duck Day, Petunia Pig Day
• (Sat) Jugglers Day, Animal Crackers Day, Adult Autism Day, Columnists Day, Golf Day, Pet Owners Independence Day, Amateur Radio Day, Husband Appreciation Day, Original Yankee Stadium Day, Auctioneers Day, Poem in Your Pocket Day, Paul Revere Day, Laundromat Day, Record Store Day
• (Sun) Hanging Out Day, Amaretto Day, Bicycle Day, Garlic Day, Humorous Day, Oklahoma City Bombing Commemoration Day

To send you into the weekend, here are two big hits by big starts eligible for Act 2. Well … at least until I add them. Have a safe weekend and in the words of Garrison Keillor, Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.

Opinions in the Shorts: Vol. 216

On Politics
The Senate Conservative Fund (SCF) has endorsed the primary challenger to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). To counter SCF, Sen. McConnell (who has a nasty side to him), vows to attack all their endorsed primary candidates: “I think we are going to crush them everywhere. I don’t think they are going to have a single nominee anywhere in the country.”

Cheers to Congress for not being in session.

I’m looking forward to voting in the May 6th Ohio Primary. The ballot is short and not many people will vote, but I will officially make my statement at a new precinct.

On This Week’s Headlines from The Onion
Determined restaurant patrons tough it out on chilly patio
Parent surprised cruel teen daughter hasn’t pushed classmate to breaking point yet
Biologists confirm God evolved from chimpanzee deity
Area man mystified by layout of adjacent town’s grocery
Last living California Raisin dies of prostate cancer

Interesting Reads
Misery among MDs (Thanks Mouse for this, and thanks Carrie for approving)
Science and the word theory
Dog sex
Ten biggest earthquakes
Interactive map of U-2 boats in WW II

Bonus Reads: The week marked the Titanic’s 102nd anniversary, so here’s a collection of related articles.
Fascination with the Titanic (Smithsonian)
The Departure (Titanic-Titanic)
A news story before the movie (Newsday)
Queenstown: The last stop (Real Clear History)
A letter: a first-hand account (Telegraph)

On Potpourri
Earlier this week I saw a review of the book Why Science Does Not Disprove God. Although I am Christian, I absolutely agree – plus add this – science cannot prove God either.

As many we watching this week’s Blood Moon, snow clouds blocked Cincinnati’s view. Here’s an article from National Geographic about lunar myths from around the world.

Upon seeing a recipe with marshmallow earlier this week on a blog, I couldn’t resist asking if they used natural or synthetic marshmallows in the recipe. The blogger kindly responded synthetic – but all its ingredients are natural.

The grocery store headline from The Onion (above) reminds me how the growth (in size/space) of grocery stores over time. Cincinnati-based Kroger, the nation’s largest grocery retailer, recently published these stats regarding their average store size
1930s: 2,000 sq ft
1960s: 12,500 sq. ft
1980s: 42,000 sq. ft.
2000: 53,000 sq. ft.
2013: 61,000 sq. ft (their largest store in our area is 123,000 sq. ft)

This week marked the 35th anniversary of The Beast, a classic and the world longest wooden roller coast found at Kings Island amusement park near Cincinnati. After watching the report below, anyone wanting to take a ride can click here.

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In my musical events hear (such as Life: The Musical), I enjoy listening to the songs readers submit … thus encourage others to do so. Many thanks to all!

The Easter weekend means the handbell choir playing. Three songs this year, but here’s good recording of cheerful tones of Enduring Joy.

Given a major holiday weekend, the Saturday Morning Classic Cartoon series resumes next weekend.

Here are your weekend celebrations

• (Fri) Golf Day, Pet Owner’s Independence Day, Amateur Radio Ray, Wear Your Pajamas to Work Day, Animal Crackers Day
• (Sat) Auctioneers Day, Amaretto Day (Yes!), Husband Appreciation Day, Garlic Day, Hanging Out Day, Record Store Day
• (Sun) Spring Astronomy Day, Look a Like Day, Plum Pudding Day, Food Day, Pineapple Upside Down Cake Day, Lima Bean Respect Day, Go Fly a Kite Day

To send you into the weekend, here’s a flashback to when I was in elementary school – the year is 1964, and the hit is Glad All Over by the Dave Clark Five. Enjoy, have a safe weekend and in the words of Garrison Keillor, Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.